---

---

---

---

---

"Oh, probably, but so what? It's already pretty bad, can't get much worse really at this point can it?" he said with a bit of a laugh towards Bonnie, though his leg was really really hurting at this point. He wasn't all too sure just how much longer he'd be able to walk around on his leg all things considering. Though of course, he wasn't going to admit that to Bonnie or anything, he was mainly gritting his teeth to stop himself from screaming out in pain from the whole experience. Being thrown around and through portals was not helping his knee injury.

He heard Strange's comments and rolled his eyes towards the guy, "Right, definitely will keep that in mind, thanks for that," he commented towards Strange as he limped along, hobbling along after the others, he glanced over towards Hill when she walked over towards them. Her tone of voice was not a good one, considering the fact that it sounded like she was mad or something, and if he was being honest, he was perfectly fine with Tinley being in trouble, problem was that they'd all be in trouble if that was the case too.

Goose trotted along after Bonnie as she slowly started moving, but he tilted his head slightly when she seemed to speak to him. Pausing for a moment, as if contemplating something, "Mrow," he responded, before he opened his mouth and a tentacle flew out, wrapping around Bonnie gently as he lifted her off the ground and started carrying her to the virology lab, moving as quickly as his little legs could go. Not caring if a few of the newbies had no idea that he could do something like that. Their loss, either that or he has yet to get annoyed enough at them to smack them.

---

---

---

---

---

Sparky was not feeling the best, her mind was swirling, trying to make sense of everything that was going on. The dream she had was more then a bit strange, all things considering, seriously nothing was making any sort of sense to her. She was trying to determine whether or not she was hallucinating or not, or whether everything was just a figment of her imagination, however now was not the time to try and determine that. She heard familiar voices speaking nearby, as she started to feel a tad bit better regarding everything, and after a few moments, she was able to open her eyes, blinking somewhat as she tried to determine where she was.

"Where am I what's going on?" she asked instantly, coughing somewhat as she tried to sit up but was having trouble finding the strength to do so. Her mind instantly started going through everything that had happened that day, and she started freaking out somewhat, as her mind remembered the fact that Raynor was missing! "I-I-I can't stay here, I have stuff I've got to do, I can't sit still, can't stay here," she instantly said as she once more tried to sit up, but started coughing again, and once more couldn't find the strength.

---

---

---

---

Cassandra looked towards Agent Simmons who seemed to be skeptical at her claim which was understandable as well, she was more focused on Sparky as Niah went to administer Wolverine's blood to Sparky. She looked towards Matt and gave him a slight smile, before hearing a familiar voice and turned to see her cousin Chloe in the next room. Her other cousin Chloe's twin sister was a singer which she didn't really get to see to much these days with her career.

And Chloe was there with her and the other members of the team as well after waking up from the Phase Three Experiments. "As in I had symptoms but I feel better now, Dr. Strange confirmed it as well, you can run all of the tests that you want on me to just to be sure." Cassandra finally answered Agent Simmons. Cassandra looked at Matt for a moment and smiled slightly see him at her side, she looked back towards the conference room she wasn't sure what they all were talking about either but started to make her way over towards the next room and knocked slightly to get their attention.

---

---

---

---

Maria looked towards Niah when she asked what happened. "We were fighting this guy named Thanos and his group The Black Order, Sparky somehow ended up getting exposed to the air." Maria said as she stepped to the side, feeling her phone going off several times, seeing that it was her wife. Taking out her phone Maria stepped over towards a more secluded area of the lab away from others. "Sorry, babe we were on a mission to find out who set the terrigen bombs out in the atmosphere. The inhumans on the Moon were the ones responsible because this guy named Thanos is hunting down his son who's also inhuman."

"Thanus? Sounds like a douche. Are you okay though? Do I need to rip a hole in the space time continuum? You know I'll do, especially since it would spite Hill."

"Oh I know you would do that without any issue. But yeah i'm fine, got smacked pretty good by a space rock troll but he wont be bothering anyone anymore I don't think." Maria said, as she looked over towards Sparky as she started to come to, she had to tell her what happened. "It's Sparky, though she contracted M-Pox, she's in medical right now but we have a cure now, Cass managed to fight it off so they could make a vaccine from her."

”... So everything there is horrible. Can I come? You know I’m on my way already but I’m pretending to ask for permission.

"I don't think you would take a no for an answer, Sparky is stable right now I think and i'm pretty sure she'd really like to see you."

”I want to see you, idiot. I love you. I’ll be there soon.”

"I love you to, you stubborn idiot, cant wait to see you." Maria said as she looked over towards Sparky as she started to come to and quickly went over and gently pushed Sparky back down. "You passed out, and you need to rest alright?" Maria said hoping that she would take the hint. "Novi is on her way."

---

---

---

---

---

Once out of the ship, she heard the tell-tale voice of Hill and she sounded pissed. Tinley could hardly blame her. The mission had gone quickly downhill ever since they landed. With Oliver opening the door and causing people to be sick, with the Royal family being heavily involved in the overall pandemic, with their task of finding Thane and taking on the Black Order ending in multiple injuries. But what mission of theirs ever went right.

She felt pain, having the semi-adrenaline boost wear off as she exited. In fact, she fell to the ground. Thankfully, they had a floating stretcher for her that she got on. Her leg hurt like a bitch, but it was nothing compared to what the others who were sick were feeling. Her leg would heal with help, but she wanted to check on them. But first, it seemed, she would have to be chewed out.

And chewed out she would accept. She was the leader and her team's mistakes were hers just as much as their triumphs were. She wouldn't throw any of them under the bus. Even if she felt Flynn would serve better elsewhere after learning to adjust his attitude, he still served the team well. She could appreciate that. She didn't let (or tried not to) personal feelings cloud her judgment.

She sat up as best she could on the stretcher. "Director Hill." She left it at that. No point joking about it or asking what she wanted to talk about. Tinley already knew.

---

---

---

---

---

Tempest followed the others into the Virology lab, checking on Sparky as she did so. She ignored the fact that Niah ignored her presence as it was more important that Sparky get help quickly and with Cass being the cure, it only served to see if it worked. Could they find a cure for everyone then? And would that put a toll on Cass? Sparky seemed out of it and more worried to get out of there. Most likely to find Raynor. Tempest kind of hated herself for figuring that out. It only seemed to make matters worse.

Tempest used her healing manipulation to help stabilize Sparky. The girl seemed fine before it, but she couldn't be too sure. "Sparky, you need to get treated. You won't help anyone, least of all Raynor, if you die from this. Let us help you and we'll find him together." Even then, Tempest knew that simple words wouldn't alleviate the concern. She could hardly blame Sparky for feeling like this. Cass seemed more than ready to get started. She would remain in case things got dicey.

---

---

---

---

---

The Hangar...

Doctor Strange was deep in concentration as he continued his magical rituals, floating easily twenty feet in the air now, entirely unaware of the events developing below.

"Leave us, please, " Hill instructed the other agents. Those remaining vacated, leaving just Flynn, Tinley, and Hill (and of course, Oliver was still on the quinjet). Whether the Director of SHIELD noticed that Flynn was still there or if she was so focused on Tinley she didn't was up for debate. "From what our intelligence could gather, your team went to make contact with the inhumans as requested. No information was relayed back to us. Nothing. Our satellites then found you all in Cardiff, where you significantly damaged a historical landmark. One of your agents is unaccounted for - Raynor Blake. We then found your agents again at a prison, where the majority of the guards were slaughtered and you illegally broke out a criminal, Thane di Angelo... I don't doubt there's more to the story, given that the Sorcerer Supreme is here, so I am withholding judgment until you explain."

"But before you do, Agent Abercrombie, know that I took a lot of heat for your promotion. The council thought you were too young and naive - they wanted me to promote Agent Reed. She has more experience, better performance reviews. This is your only warning. Next time, I will need to seriously reevaluate your capabilities as a lead."

Interrogation Cell 72-A...

Thane di Angelo was booked, his cell guarded by two armed agents. The helmet Matt had placed on him had been removed and no atmospheric precautions were taken in the holding cell. Thane remained in his prison uniform with magical bonds. In addition, the SHIELD agents added handcuffs and chains locked into the interrogation table. The interrogation room is rather empty otherwise, with dark blue walls and a one way glass wall facing Thane, the sort common in police stations. The door to the holding cell is adjacent to Thane.

---

---

---

Simmons let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, as Niah revived Sparky using Wolverine's blood. Tempest's additional use of her healing powers to help stabilize Sparky made her patient's prognosis all the better. Her patient was by no means cured, still suffering from the ravages of M-Pox, but at least she wasn't about to make a trip down to the morgue.

Her patient regained consciousness and Simmons removed the oxygen mask quickly from Sparky. "Agent Renroir is correct. You're in the virology laboratory at the Hub," Simmons explained. She reached into her pocket and handed Sparky a lolly. It was small and grape flavored. "You're in no condition to do anything of any sort at the moment... We almost lost you, sweetheart." Simmons pursed her lips slightly, before she noticed that the man standing next to Agent Reed had a broken wrist. "Tempest, would you mind mending his wrist?" she asked.

A few seconds later, the doors to the lab burst open. Goose had gigantic tentacles coming out from his mouth, wrapped around Agent Chase. Simmons yelped in surprise. "What the?!" she screamed. She had never seen a cat quite like that - and a moment later, she realized it was Nick Fury's cat. She briefly wondered why Goose hadn't left with Fury when the president removed him from his position.

"It's fine, Goose was just helping me get here quickly - my ankle's broken," Bonnie explained, as Goose gently set her down. "Cass has dermal armor - we'd need to use a vibranium needle to penetrate her skin in order to get her blood and look at her antibodies," she then said quickly.

"... We don't have that," Simmons said.

"Then we'll have to go in through her optic tissue - or through her mouth or, erm, one of the lower openings," Bonnie explained. It wasn't something that she would wish on her worst enemy. The eye would definitely be traumatizing, yet in her experience the mouth wasn't much of an option. The tongue had a way of misbehaving. And the other openings... Bonnie didn't want to put Cass through that.

Simmons agreed. "The eye it is, then," she said, quickly getting the equipment gathered as Bonnie hobbled on over to an empty work station.

"Cass, if you could lie down here, and remain as still as possible," Bonnie requested. Simmons handed Cass some pretty strong painkillers, since putting Cass under would prove difficult for the very same reason taking her blood was challenging.

---

---

---

---

Niah was thankful she hadn't made things worse. And now Bonnie was there. Maria and the others had a good handle on Sparky now. Niah smiled taking a step back. She looked around seeing who all had arrived.

"Tempest, it is good to see you. I'd hug you but..." Niah trailed off and gestured to the hazmat suit she was wearing. It would make hugging really awkward. She did kneel down and greet Goose. "Sorry, Goose I don't have any treats in my suit, but if you go to my room I do have a bag for you. Thank you for bringing Bonnie."

"What happened to Raynor?" Niah asked quietly. She wanted to know but didn't want to disrupt Sparky and the situation with Cass. She looked at Tempest and Maria for answers.

A part of her was nervous about the answer. She knew that Raynor was capable of some very terrible things. She had seen it in him during the time loops, much like she had with Flynn. But also like with Flynn she knew that Ryanor meant a lot to a friend of hers, which to her meant that Raynor was important. She would do some dumb stuff to make sure her friends were okay.

---

---

---

---

Matt's jaw dropped when Bonnie came in literally in the jaws and tentacles of Goose. He stared stunned. But the team didn't seem too freaked out by it. In fact, even Niah was just petting the cat, best she could in the suit she was in. He shook his head and tried to ignore the tentacle creature he had thought was like the group's mascot or something. Something apparently was more accurate.

Matt winced at what options Cass had for getting her blood drawn. "Fix Bonnie first." He told Tempest. "She's more important right now." He couldn't help with any of the science stuff and he knew that the only reason he was even here was he was worried about Cass. He knew she was in good hands though.

Matt offered his unbroken hand to help Cass up onto the bed. He decided he would go check on the rest of the team once Tempest had had a chance to heal his wrist. While he wanted Bonnie to be healed first, he did want to be healed too. He would like the full range of his abilities at his disposal. "Would it help if I paralyzed her?" Matt offered. He didn't like using his power too much cause he was worried he would cause someone's lungs to paralyze too if he wasn't careful. But he thought it might be helpful right now.

“Yes, that would do the trick.” Agent Simmons said. Matt turned to Cass, he wanted her permission first. There was no way he would paralyze her without it. Cass nodded giving him permission and he removed the glove from his suit, finding a bit of skin exposed to the air and touched it gently. He didn't want to put too much into it and risk seriously hurting her, but enough where she wouldn't move when the needle came at her. If he were to accidentally overdo it at least she was here near a lot of medical care, and Tempest.

"You got this." He whispered for Cass alone to hear. He felt the energy he carried that could cause paralyzation leaving him and enter Cass. He snapped it off when he felt like it was the right amount and under his hand, Cass went still but was still breathing. Good. Perfect.

---

---

---

---

---

Flynn wasn't too sure what to do regarding the whole Tinley and Hill conversation, however he heard Hill say to leave, so that was what he was going to do, as quickly as he possibly could anyway with his shattered kneecap. Of course, him not moving very quickly was somewhat beneficial, at least in his mind, as he was able to hear a few things that Hill said to Tinley, and he had to stop himself from laughing. Hill sounded pissed off at Tinley, and he was all for that sort of thing. Tinley was getting chewed out, and he could understand why, not talking to your boss about what was going on was never a good thing.

He managed to more or less limp his way to where the others were in the virology lab, "Sooooooo, sounds like Abercrombie is getting chewed out spectacularly by Hill," he mentioned to the others as he leaned against a wall to keep the weight off of his bad leg. "Would have stuck around to hear what Tinley was going to say in response, but eh, Hill said to leave before she instantly started chewing her out, so I left the area before I got yelled at or something for being there."

---

---

---

---

---

Sparky's brain was racing, and she just looked at the lollipop that Simmons had handed her, not really sure what to really say or think. So she settled on, "Well I'm not dead yet!" After saying those words, she instantly started trying to get up, and almost managed to sit up, before her strength failed her and she fell back to her lying down position. "God damn it!" she snapped instantly, before she started coughing again as she instantly went back to trying to sit up again, not caring what anyone else was going to do to potentially stop her.

This time, she somehow managed to sit up, however she was a bit shaky and still looked like death a bit as she coughed a little bit more. "I'm not dead yet and I'm not staying here. I can't sit still, I can't stay in here doing nothing, I need to get out of here!" she said instantly, coughing some more again, before she looked over at Niah, seeing that she was in the room, and just nodding her head at what Maria had said regarding Novikova. "I'm fine, I'm here, I'm still not dead and don't plan on dying despite what the rest of you seem to think! And I'm going to find Raynor if I have to drag him back here myself! Then I can die, but not until then damn it!"

Goose seemed interested in what was going on, and was happy to see another nice hooman was nearby. When Niah started paying attention to him, he instantly started purring, rubbing up against her. When he saw that Sparky was sitting up, he jumped up onto the stretcher next to her, purring next to her as if he was trying to soothe her. Sparky at this point was really close to just breaking down and crying again at this point.

---

---

---

---

Cassandra watched as Goose came in holding Bonnie in his tentacle and setting her down looking at Simmons and Matt's reaction was kind of funny but it was understandable as well a normal house cat could never do that. She really didn't like any of the options of drawing her blood, she didn't want a bunch of doctors taking blood samples from her privates at all. The eye it is then, which she really didn't want to experience at all. "This is going to be a lot of fun for me.." Cass said mostly to herself as she made her way onto the nearby bed, looking over at Matt, it was comforting to see him at her side, as she took off her helmet and set it down onto the ground of the lab floor.

She quickly downed the painkillers that Simmons had given her dry swallowing them, Cass looked up at Matt nodding towards him to let him paralyze her so that they can get her blood samples. Feeling Matt's touch she instantly froze where she was, still breathing but unable to move at all, hearing Flynn coming into the room and hearing that Tinely was in some kind of trouble with Hill. She was curious what was going on over there, as Sparky started to come to as well.

---

---

---

---

Maria looked at Niah for a moment when she asked where Raynor was and looked at Sparky for a moment. "Raynor was a skrull, we don't know where he actually is right now." Maria answered Niah, as much as it was really troubling to see she wasn't sure where he actually was right now either. Goose came in shortly after carrying Bonnie in as well, seeing Simmons' reaction was actually funny in her opinion. "Goose really isn't a normal cat as you can see." Maria said to Simmons and smiled towards the cat when Sparky tried to get up to a sitting position rested a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"And like I promised i'll still help you find Raynor Sparky, but you cant help him if you are still sick, once you are feeling better we can help you find him and deal with Thanos." Maria said calmly as Goose came over and jumped onto the stretcher, and gently started to pet him as well smiling at the kitty. Then Flynn came into the room, hearing Hill was pretty pissed off at Tinley she didn't contact Hill since they had left the moon either which was a really bad thing. "Probably because she didn't update her when we left from the moon or something." Maria said.

In the Quinjet, Oli had been dealing with one of the worst cases of hunger pangs in his life. Being recently entered into the speedster club, he hadn't realized that being able to move at these speeds had a major drawback; a metabolism to match. He needed food, and he needed it now, literally salivating at the smell of the bar food in the jet. He knew there was work to do, but he felt like if he didn't eat right now, he'd be unable to focus on anything else. Really, this was dealing with a liability the team would have had to deal with later. Getting ahead of himself, his speed kicked in, and he got a few fries down his mouth, before quickly struggling to swallow.

Coughing up what was shoved in his mouth, it soared and hit the wall in front of him. Gasping for air, he slowed his intake of food, and peeked his head as he heard Tinley being chewed out by Director Hill. That was a voice one didn't forget, not if they were interested in continued employment, that is. Cleaning up the mess he made in the Quinjet once he was finished eating, he knew he'd need to go out and make it clear they were heard. He swallowed hard, and stepped out of the Quinjet, and gave a silent acknowledgement, just a look at the two of them, and continued walking forward, hoping they wouldn't want to talk to him about what he'd heard.

---

---

---

---

---

Tinley expected to be chewed out. Hell, she had been chewing herself out ever since they landed on the planet, so getting it from Hill was no surprise. As everyone vacated, she was prepared to take her thrashing when Oliver popped out of the hanger, looking sheepish. She glared at him as he made his way out. She would deal with that later. For now, her attention remained on Hill as she stated her case. Once she was done, Tinley responded.

"Your concerns are noted, Director Hill. I'll start by saying that I am thankful for the promotion even if it got you heat for it. That said, I believe I acted at the moment with the best I could offer. When we landed, we found the Inhuman royalty was unhelpful to our cause. They were responsible for it because a being named Thanos was coming with his Black Order and they wanted their people, Inhumans, to be ready to fight. They did not care for other life on Earth. In order to receive their aid, we were tasked with taking out the Black Order and getting Mr. di Angelo out of prison. I apologize for not relaying that to you, but I believed we needed to complete the mission quickly if we had any hope of helping those with the sickness."

"We went off on the mission where we were attacked by the Black Order. It was then that the guards of the prison were slaughtered by Thanos' fighters. The landmark being destroyed was a casualty that could not be helped. Doctor Strange appeared to help our people with their illness. He aided Agent Reed and was able to help us help Agent Sparks. As for Raynor, it was discovered by Tempest after Raynor was attacked that he was a Skrull. Once that was discovered, we completed the mission and returned here with Thane."

"I'd like to state that the crew did an incredible job handling themselves through it all. They took on the Black Order with gusto. Moving forward, we still need to ensure Thane's safety as Thanos is looking for him. The Inhuman royalty promised aid, but I do not trust them." Tinley left out Oliver's idiocy and Flynn's insubordination. There was no need to throw them under the bus.

---

---

---

---

---

Tempest smiled at Niah, who had finally acknowledged her. Tempest chalked it up to Niah being busy, what with everyone now in there. "We'll hug once we save everyone. As per usual." Tempest was given her orders, but Matt, being the good guy he is, wanted Bonnie to be checked on first. "With all due respect Matt, don't tell me how to do my job. I will heal any and all." She did heal Bonnie first, making sure the girl's ankle was taken care of so she could walk. Matt was next, but she struggled a bit at first. Eventually, she managed to mend his wrist.

Sparky was adamant in her search for Raynor and Tempest could hardly blame her. But even then, she was in no state to be taking on such heroics. "You won't be any good to him if you are dead, Sparky. And you do not need to handle it alone. You have a whole team here who I am sure would be willing to help find Raynor. He's part of us, after all. But you need to be checked and healed before that happens. Doctor's orders, or whatever."

---

---

---

---

---

The Hangar...

Doctor Strange remained in a trance of sorts, twenty feet up in the air and oblivious to Hill's scolding of Tinley. He was nearing the end of his rituals however.

Director Hill's eyes narrowed, looking at Tinley with a gaze of pure calculation, as if she were attempting to determine the easiest way to build and then instantly destroy something. Power corrupts - and absolute power corrupts absolutely. She had been groomed by Fury to take over his position, and as a young woman early in her career, she couldn't afford anything less than a stellar performance. Hill would be judged twice as harshly and given only a quarter of the praise by the Council in comparison to her predecessor.

Her eyes seemed to flicker for a moment, as if they were changing color, but it must have just been a trick of the light. "I sent you on a mission to determine why the inhumans had unleashed the Terrigen Mist into the atmosphere - not to defect to them and take their orders as gospel, Abercrombie. Maybe it was a mistake for me to have an inhuman lead that mission. As for communication and relaying what was going on... You weren't the one piloting the quinjet. You could have sent a transmission, however brief, while in transit."

"I'm glad that your team performed well," Hill continued. She eyed Oliver. "But I cannot trust you to lead. Agent Sullivan... go fetch Agent Reed for me. Agent Abercrombie, this is a temporary reassignment for now. We'll discuss this more later. You'll have an opportunity to defend your case with a council of the other senior agents present."

---

---

---

Bonnie's mind was focused on the work ahead of her. Had she not been, she likely would have shed a few tears for Raynor. She didn't like him at all, finding him extremely unpleasant and difficult to work with. He was one of the most frustrating agents that she had ever met, but he was still a person. He didn't deserve to be replaced by a skrull, without any sign of what had happened to him. She had to focus on getting Cass' blood so they could make a cure for Sparky and all the other mutants afflicted by M-Pox. Mourning a teammate would have to wait.

"Good thought, Matt," Bonnie said, managing a slight smile. She hadn't even realized that they could use his power of paralysis in order to keep Cass still. Sparky was ranting and raving, something Bonnie didn't blame her for but again, she just didn't have the processing space to deal with her. Maria was handling Sparky though - she was grateful for that. "Flynn, get your leg seen to by Tempest if you can. And then please keep Sparky from getting up, she'll just injure herself and make her condition worse." She frowned slightly at his comments about Tinley and Hill.

"Stay still," Bonnie instructed Cass, even though it was impossible for her to move. Agent Simmons assisted Bonnie with the procedure, helping to steady Bonnie's hands as she took the needle and gently pushed it in through the upper corner of Cass' eye, navigating the optic tissue. Bonnie felt incredibly tense, afraid that one wrong move would result in Cass being blind.

"There," Simmons agreed, giving Bonnie a nod. "You should be able to draw now."

Bonnie nodded as well, slowly pulling back on the syringe. The needle itself was quite lengthy, easily double the length of the syringe. They were taking the largest blood sample Bonnie dared, not wanting to drain Cass' head of too much blood. The red liquid emerged into the syringe chamber, slowly filling until they had the syringe about three quarters full, the most they could do. Bonnie gently guided the needle out, not daring to breathe until it was out of Cass' eye.

"There," she said, as Simmons took the syringe and quickly transferred it into a pre-labeled vial. "Strange said he could accelerate the creation of a cure with that from his powers... Matt, I don't know, can you un-paralyze Cass? We're done with her hopefully. And could someone go fetch Strange?"

There was a knock on the laboratory door. Peering in through the window, her silver hair braided back and ruby red shades masking her eyes, was Dominika Novikova. "Can I come in?"

---

---

---

---

Niah was torn about how to feel about Raynor having been a Skrull. There was definitely something very bad about it. That meant that the tests Bonnie had done had either been compromised or the Skrull had taken Raynor after. Niah hoped it was the latter. She frowned. This was not good. There had to be another way to test for Skrulls. A more reliable way. One that you could do every time you met with someone.

"Of course." Niah smiled and winked at Tempest.

She stood tensely nearby in case she was needed. What Cass was going through could not be easy and Niah was glad that she wasn't the one on the table being experimented on. Not that she hadn't been on a table being experimented before. But thankfully she had been unconscious for the three weeks that had taken. She looked around. It was sad how few of the other Phase three people were left. Death, reassignment...being written out of existence.

---

---

---

---

Watching the procedure had Matt on edge. He did think about the fact that he had not had his helmet on for quite some time and there appeared to be no ill effects for him. It was likely he was now immune to the mists like the princess had been. The others on the team weren't though and what Cass was doing was to save them and who knew how many other mutants.

Matt shrugged uncertain if he could reverse the paralysis, he had never tried before. It normally just wore off. He put his hand back on her cheek and considered the feeling of how he made people paralyzed. He tried to reverse it. At first, nothing happened. He pushed a little harder and then he watched Cass' stop rising.

"No." He whispered, and pressed harder trying to fix it. He couldn't hurt her. Not Cass. He watched as things went very wrong. "Cass! Shit. I don't know how to reverse it. I made it worse. She's not breathing." He looked up at Bonnie. The horror of what he had done written in his features. "Her heart...It has stopped."

---

---

---

---

---

"Don't tell me what to do! I know what I'm doing, so just stop it already!" Sparky snapped at just about everyone in the room, sort of glaring a little bit at everyone within eye shot for her. She was not in the best mood, and was still feeling like hell, and what everyone was saying was not helping. There was the added bonus of her fighting back tears due to what Maria had just told Niah, and reminding her out loud that something had happened to Raynor. Her mind was just racing before she heard Matt say something about stopping Cass' heart, and she knew that she could do something to help.

"I've got this," she told the others. Managing to get up from where she was sitting, she stumbled over to where Cass was, electricity jumping along her hands as she put her hands on Cass and caused an electrical jolt to shoot from her hands and hit Cass, resulting in a strong enough jolt to restart her heart, allowing her to still be breathing. Of course, the instant she did that, she stumbled backwards and sort of collapsed to the ground, her legs giving out entirely underneath her.

---

---

---

---

---

Flynn looked over at Tempest when she spoke regarding healing anyone and everyone. Of course, his knee at this point was throbbing horribly, and most people, apparently not Tempest, would think that a shattered kneecap was more pressing of an injury then a broken wrist. "I guess I'm not included in that any and all am I? Eh, no matter, I can live with a shattered knee for a little while longer, no rush, it's totally not really preventing me from walking at all," Flynn said with a bit of an eye roll, before finally Tempest seemed to acknowledge his existence and actually healed his kneecap, allowing him to move around with a lot of pain.

His attention was drawn away rather quickly by what was going on with Cass, and Matt saying that her heart had stopped. "Okay, she can't die with her last memory being someone putting a needle through her eye!" Flynn said, before Sparky managed to get up from where she was and go over to Cass, zapping her in order to restart her heart. Immediately after, she dropped to the ground, clearly not feeling the best still despite what she kept telling everyone. "Okay, can people stop dying already?" he said, before he walked over and picked her up off the ground, setting her back on her stretcher.

"I'm fine, I'm not dying!" Sparky mumbled, half heartedly protesting as Goose sat by her again and was still purring.

"Clearly, you need to stay put whether you want to or not."

---

---

---

---

Cassandra's eyes moved towards Bonnie when she told her to remain still, if she could roll her eyes or shake her head she would, feeling the drugs kicking in now as Bonnie and Simmons started to insert the needle into her eye. She couldn't feel it at all as they started to draw the blood from there. It was incredibly weird, as she could hear all of the conversations going on around her. Once Bonnie took enough blood Bonnie asking her to remove the paralysis from her, her breathing suddenly stopped, and she started to panic. Cass started to feel woozy and loose consciousness as everyone's words started to get muffled.

When Sparky came over and restarted her heard and she could breathe again, and everyone's voices were much clearer now, her body felt really weak and wobblily as well. Cassandra moved her hand a little bit, feeling like everything was asleep after you have sat on it for a long time. "I'm okay.." Cassandra said weakly, trying to reach for her helmet again, when Maria came over and helped it back on, feeling her upper body again, but she was still paralyzed from the waist down.

---

---

---

---

Maria looked at Sparky, and looked down feeling a little bit bad for her when she told Niah what happened to Raynor, though Niah should have known anyway on what happened to him. Maria didn't say anything to Sparky avoiding the glare that Sparky was giving everyone even her included. She watched as Bonnie went to draw the blood from Cass' eye cringing slightly at the sight of it all. She couldn't help but feel the pain somewhat and didn't envy her on what they had to do, but it was a whole lot better than the other choices she had to choose.

When Matt tried to paralyze her and heard what Matt said Maria stood up slightly to see if she could do anything, when Sparky got up and restarted Cass' heart. Maria sighed in relief seeing her breathing again and starting to come to as well and even getting up. Maria saw that Cass' had set her helmet that she had set down so that they could draw the blood and quickly went to put it back onto her head. "Here you go, are you alright?" Maria asked, Cass giving her a nod, when Maria heard a familiar voice she perked up quickly seeing that it was Novi and quickly went to the door and hugged her tightly once she opened the door. "Of course you can come in."

Flustered by the entire situation, Oliver panicked. He didn't want to be in the middle of the politics of this situation, that wasn't why he joined SHIELD, he just wanted to do good work and help people the best he could. He couldn't. however deny Hill. That was how people got reassigned to an Antarctic research facility, and Oli hated the cold. He just awkwardly nodded, he backed up a few steps, before starting to speed off, only for the worst thing possible to happen. He tripped, and fell on Hill, knocking the both of them over, with him laying over her. He started scrambling to get up as quickly as possible, muttering something about being sorry, though he was incapable of forming proper sentences at this point. After helping her up, he sped off as quickly as he could.

Moving quickly was something new to Oliver, but he was slowly getting used to it, and he had confidence that he'd eventually be able to it without this much effort. Zooming into the Virology Lab, he noticed that something was going on with Cass, with lots of people crowding around here, and Sparky was on a stretcher. Coughing for a moment, and leaning against the entrance, he said, "When she has a moment, Director Hill told me to get Agent Reed, she needs to talk to her." He still felt awkward, after putting her life at risk the way he did. He knew she was under a lot of stress right now, but he was sure she feared the Director as much as he did, so he didn't expect much push back.

---

---

---

---

---

The Hangar...

Hill's eyes were narrowed as she tapped her foot impatiently. She took Tinley's silence to mean that the agent was simply ashamed and remorseful of her actions - certainly a better reaction than yelling and arguing. Hill hated it when agents tried to shout their way out of situations, finding it much better if they just accepted the consequences of their actions and moved on.

Doctor Strange finished his protective warding and sigils, rendering them invisible to the Black Order's sensors - at least for now. He emerged from his trance and gently flew down from his position high up in the air, landing lightly in front of Director Hill. "Maria," he greeted.

"Stephen," she responded in turn.

"You're looking well."

"... Thanks. This is awkward, isn't it?"

"I suppose it's not every day your ex boyfriend shows up at your place of business," he agreed.

---

---

---

Jemma Simmons retreated farther into the virology lab, carefully storing the vial of Cass' blood. While they were going to use it to develop a cure with the help of Doctor Strange, she didn't want to risk anyone knocking it over or anything of the sort until he arrived. Besides, there was plenty of preparatory work they would have to complete before they could begin to use the blood samples they had acquired. Cass would be needed to stay near the Hub essentially until the cure was completed as well, just in case they required further samples.

Bonnie didn't even get a second to rest on her laurels after safely drawing Cass' blood. Something must have gone horribly wrong with Matt's powers - she had a lingering suspicion that perhaps Oliver was to blame, as Matt underwent secondary terrigenesis earlier that day - as Cass was no longer breathing. Her heart had stopped. Her best friend was about to die right in front of her. She had barely gotten a chance to begin to look for a crash cart when Sparky stumbled out of her stretcher, shocked Cass back to life, and then collapsed in Flynn's arms.

She agreed with Flynn completely - people needed to stop dying now. "Thank goodness you're okay, Cass," Bonnie said, wiping a few tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. "I might've pulled a Novikova if we lost you." Bonnie then turned, hearing Oliver explain that Director Hill needed to see Cass. It must have been serious if Hill wanted to talk to her, especially since Flynn had said that Hill was chewing out Tinley. "Urgh... Cass, you really ought to rest and let us observe you, but I know you, so go on and speak to Hill. We've got a wheelchair. Matt can go with you."

Bonnie hurried across the room, grabbing a wheelchair and she wheeled it on over.

---

---

---

As the door opened, Novikova beamed and returned her wife's hug. Maria was in a protective suit which made it difficult for Novikova to show as much affection as she would have liked. "You wouldn't believe what Pym had me and Wanda do - he made an artificial atmosphere for the quarantine room and shut the two of us up in it... Being trapped with the Scarlet Witch was not what I signed up for," she complained. Unlike the mutants at S.H.I.E.L.D., Novikova didn't have any protective gear on. She was lucky, not having developed any symptoms of M-Pox yet.

She entered the virology lab, seeing how busy and crowded it was. Her mouth shifted into a frown as she saw the doctor responsible for Phase Three inside the conference room. In fact, Novikova wasn't really happy to see most of the people here. She was still bitter over being fired from S.H.I.E.L.D., when as far as she was concerned her only crime was caring too much about her best friend to let Sparky die in the Quantum Realm. "Sparks? You look like hell, if it was frozen over and then reheated in the microwave like a freezer burned burrito," she told her best friend bluntly.

Goose was purring and sitting on the stretcher with Sparky. Novikova then turned her gaze, looking at Oliver for a moment and her face paled, realizing something. It was a blurry memory, mostly due to the copious amounts of vodka she had consumed that night, but she couldn't deny it anymore. And with what Maria had told her on the phone about some alien named Thanos... "I know it's not my job anymore, but keeping Thanos' son in the virology lab might not be a genius move."

Bonnie stopped what she was doing. "What... Oh... Oh god, no..." She was staring at Oliver now. It made sense. He was inhuman. He was from Cardiff. He was born on the same day at the same hospital that records indicated Thane had been.

---

---

---

---

Niah smiled at Novikova giving her a small wave. She missed her, which if someone had told Niah that she would miss Novikova a year ago she wouldn't have believed them. Weird how having each other's backs in a battle built bonds like that...or destroyed them. "Put on a suit Novi. That'll help protect you. If you haven't already gotten M-pox. If we are lucky though Cass' blood here will help and we should be able to synthesis a vaccine." Niah handed her one from a stack.

"You know I would have helped you, Bonnie." Niah smiled and looked at Cass. Niah was thankful Cass was okay. It had been scarily close. She wasn't certain how she felt about Matt now since he literally was the reason she had almost died, he did seem really upset about it at least. She frowned and was about to offer to help Cass instead when the building rocked. "What was that? That was not an Earthquake."

---

---

---

---

"I am sorry Cass. Please forgive me." He felt guilty for his power. His fear of somehow overdoing it had come true. If not for Sparky's quick thinking he could have very well killed Cass. "Thank you Sparky." He mentally swore to himself that he would do whatever it took to help Sparky find Raynor.

Matt took the wheelchair from Bonnie and was offering to help move Cass from the stretcher to the wheelchair when the building shook. He thought it might be an Earthquake for a moment. He hadn't experienced one yet so he wasn't certain, Niah said it wasn't though. He trusted her knowledge on the matter since she was from the Philipines were earthquakes was as common as they were in San Francisco. But then it shook again and he knew what was happening.

"Those are explosions." He said answering Niah's question. Strange had said he was doing protective runes against the Black Order, but that didn't rule them out. That actually made them his top suspect. "Black order? I'd say we should check Thane in the holding cell, but with this new information..." He trailed off looking at Oliver. He wasn't certain he completely understood Oliver. He definitely didn't know how Novikova knew that he was Thane, but she had something with her sight right? "If Hill was pissed about the botched job at the Prison, she's gonna be even more pissed to learn it was unnecessary." Matt winced at the idea. "Do you think Thanos knows? Thank you for the heal Tempest, that's going to be helpful."

"Cass do you want to stay here or want me to take you to the explosion?" Considering it seemed like she couldn't walk he would carry her if he had to, but only if the wheelchair couldn't get through a situation. He was going to head to the explosion though. Thankfully he had been healed by Tempest.

---

---

---

---

Dalisy knew where her sister was. She had spent time trying to make sure this was all right. She put out several bombs in the Hanger of the building Niah worked in. In the Hanger, it would cause a distraction. It would draw the others who worked in the building. They would either evacuate or they would head toward the explosions. Dalisy knew that the people in the building were agents, not quite government, but government-sanctioned. Her sister worked for them. It would have been better if Niah hadn't been here, but for the time that Dalisy had been watching Niah had rarely left the building.

In the hanger, the bombs went off. There was a few people that Dalisy could hear the voices of. She accepted that they would be casualties, but that was something that had to be accepted in this action. A fire was now blazing and alarms were starting to go off. Three ships were destroyed. That would do.

Dalisy didn't know if Niah would be one of the ones running toward the explosion or away. The sister she had known so long ago would have wanted to help. Niah was kind-hearted, which led Dalisy to consider that her little sister would be coming to help. That meant the likelihood of Niah coming here was much higher than her just evacuating.

Dalisy took a position behind a vehicle that hadn't exploded, this would do. She only needed to make contact with Niah, stealth was not super vital, but she didn't want to be the first thing that was spotted when someone entered the hanger.

---

---

---

---

Cass still felt really out of it, turning to look at Bonnie her best friend and gave her a slight smile she wouldn't put it past her if Bonnie had gone the same route that Novi did trying to save Sparky from dying. "I wouldn't put it past you then I would do the same for you as well." Cassandra said, turning her attention towards Matt hearing him apologizing she didn't blame him at all for what could have happened if it wasn't for Sparky's quick thinking. "It's alright it wasn't your fault." She told him, as Oliver came into the room telling her that she needed to go and see Hill right away. She was really tired still and felt very sluggish as well, but Cass knew that she'd most likely get chewed out by Hill if she didn't go and see her or something worse.

"If I had the choice i'd rather be in bed as well honestly, or take a week off even that would be really nice actually, you can monitor me that entire time then to" She said, today was pretty crazy nearly dying twice in one day really did suck as well. "Take me to Hill." Cass said looking over towards Matt when he came back with a wheelchair, groaning a little bit as she awkwardly got into the wheelchair on her own. Hearing Novikova dropping a bomb about Oliver she looked towards her for a moment though she knew her power she could see other realities and looked over at Oliver for a moment.

As far as she knew they took Thane out from prison as far as she could tell they might have taken him out of prison illegally which wouldn't look well for SHIELD if Tinley was getting chewed out by Hill. "If this is true, and knowing Novi it is actually true, then we need to make sure Oliver is safe then." Cass said, when she felt the room shaking, and Matt confirmed that it was an explosion, even if she couldn't move on her own and still feeling the drugs in her system they needed to find out what was happening. "Take me there." Cassandra said, she wasn't sure where Hill was, the meeting would have to wait for now and turned to look at Oliver. "Where is Hill right now?"

---

---

---

---

Maria smiled still seeing Novi always did make her happy, even though they did live together outside of the HUB though Maria was worried about her wife not wearing any kind of protective clothes like she had been issued with SHIELD. Though she laughed slightly when she heard that she and Scarlet Witch were trapped in a Quarantine Chamber together that Pym had made. "Oh I am sure it was a blast being in there with her." Maria said with a slight laugh, she turned to look directly at Oliver when Novi mentioned that Oliver was the son of Thanos was really worrying since they took Thane out of prison back in Cardiff. They would have to protect Oliver now if Thanos was actually after him than the guy that they managed to bust out of prison.

Maria was glad that Cass was alright now which was a good thing, they did need her alive and she was considered a friend as well and they needed a cure, Niah handed her wife one of the suits as well. "I'm really surprised that Pym hadn't made one for you or Wanda over there." Maria said when she felt the ground shaking a little bit, and then another. Maria took out her bow looking over at Novi for a moment and gave her a slight smile.

"I know you don't work with us anymore, but I wouldn't mind you coming along either." Maria said, she occasionally did think of quitting SHIELD and joining the West Coast Avengers with Novi as well, and seeing her every day would be even better as well. Though she felt like she was needed here more right now as Maria started to make her way towards the Hangar, she looked around seeing three Quinjets were now all on fire right now which wasn't good at all.

---

---

---

---

---

Sparky had to stop herself from laughing somewhat at what Novikova had said regarding what she and the Scarlet Witch had to deal with back at Pym Tech or wherever she was working at now. She missed having her best friend around, considering it certainly was fun to be able to talk with her a lot more often then she was able to. Right now, she definitely needed to talk with Novikova, she wasn't exactly in the best mental state and could really have her best friend there to help her out. That certainly was a nice thing, and she was glad that Novi showed up.

"It's good to see you Novi... And don't worry, I'm fine, despite what everyone else keeps saying," she said with a slight laugh, giving Novikova a slight smile, before her attention was drawn away by what she said regarding Oliver, who apparently really was Thane. "...So us going to Cardiff was pointless then, everything done there was useless, guess that's something," she muttered under her breath, before she turned her head towards the door. "What was that?" she asked, only hearing someone point out the obvious that it was an explosion.

---

---

---

---

---

"Wonder what Hill wants to talk to you about," he couldn't help but ask, looking over at Cass. Though it probably wasn't going to be good for either Cass or Tinley, one of the two really was probably going to have a bad day or something. Since having a conversation with Hill probably would not end well considering the chewing out that was going on. Then came the words that Oliver was really Thane, Thanos' son and some weird switched at birth thing had occurred to result in Oliver not having that name or whatever it was.

"Well that certainly changes things now doesn't it. Congratulations Sullivan! Turns out your the kid of the guy who was responsible for the decimation of the Inhumans on the moon and last we heard really wants you dead, so have fun with that revelation," he said to Oliver, not really sure what else to really say to him, before there was an explosion. "Not sure about the rest of you, but I'm going to go see what's going on," Flynn said instantly, before he left the room and headed towards where the explosion had come from.

Oliver gave a look at Novikova before starting to say, "Thane's in the-" Before stopping dead. There was something itching in his mind, something that set off alarm bells almost instantly. It took him a moment, but he remembered. That damn night when she was drunk off her ass, she said something, he had chalked it up to the state she was in, but no, it was so, so much more. His mind racing, the pieces were connecting in his mind. They shared the same birthday, they were both inhuman, they were at the same god damn hospital. It all made too much sense. "I... I need to call my mom." He said, taking out his cellphone, a lost look in his eyes.

As the call went to voice mail, his heart skipped a beat at the sound of the explosions. Thinking as quickly as he could, he could only assume they were under siege from The Mad Titan. Needing to confirm this, his hands trembled, he was in Thanos' system once, he believed he could get back in. And, to his horror, he was correct, for it was not The Hub that was being assaulted, but Cardiff. He could see his city being turned to rubble, like Attilan before it. His jaw dropped as he tried something, anything to get it to stop, but he was helpless to do anything but watch his home burn.

Feeling hollow inside, his phone dropped to the ground. In shock, and feeling lost. Tears began to stream down the side of his face, as he realized that, everything he once was has been ripped away from him in an instant. His mother and father, his home, everyone he'd ever known or loved, they were all gone, and all the brains or powers in the world couldn't do a goddamn thing about it. Even his identity was gone, not really knowing who he was supposed to be any more. Oliver Sullivan, in effect, had been killed, who stood before them now was him in name only.

He didn't have any answers here, nowhere to go, nothing to do, not even the chaos that was happening around him concerned him, he felt stuck. Closing his mouth, and breathing in, he looked at the team around him. Even they hated him, they weren't his friends, not really, they barely knew him, and he put them all at risk earlier. He had nothing, for the first real time in his life. All he could muster out was, "They're dead. They're all dead." His voice breaking as he spoke, before sitting on the ground, and looking at everyone around him with empty eyes. He knew there was an emergency happening, but damn if he felt like he could do anything about it.

---

---

---

---

---

---

They did not need this right now.

Bonnie had a momentary urge to scream at the sky. They had finally had a small victory - Cass being cured and potentially being the means to cure everyone else of M-Pox. After the brutal losses they had already suffered that day, with Oliver being revealed as Thanos' son, they should have had a break. Strange had said that he'd put up wards to protect them. Yet Bonnie didn't doubt that the Black Order was the reason behind what felt like an earthquake. They were under attack - again.

"No, Thanos I don't think knew - at least, not at first. Otherwise, he would've sent his minions specifically for Oliver. The two who followed me through the portal wouldn't have had a reason to," Bonnie reasoned. "And now... Whether he knows or not, both Oliver and Thane are here. We're a target either way."

The fighters in the team went off to deal with the threat in the hangar. Bonnie would've joined them, but it wasn't the strategic play. If Thanos was responsible, they needed to hide Oliver quickly. Besides, he looked broken. Bonnie walked over to him and knelt down next to him on the ground. "Hey, this doesn't make any sense, I know. If you need to cry, then you need to cry - but right now, we have to move. One foot in front of the other or we're all be dead," she told him softly but firmly. She put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"Niah, Sparky, Tempest, come on. We can go to Fury's panic room," Bonnie told them. "Oliver'll be safe there. It has some medical supplies too, so Sparky'll be okay as well." She then looked at Goose, the incredibly useful cat, knowing that he had to know the location of Fury's panic room. "Goose, I need you to lead us to Fury's panic room. It's life or death."

---

---

---

In the hangar, Dalisy had destroyed three ships, sparing the team's quinjet by some stroke of fate. Doctor Strange had been unscathed in the explosions, his cloak wrapping around him protectively, apparently indestructible. Hill wasn't as lucky. After the dust cleared, she was nowhere to be seen. Maybe the explosion had killed her. Tinley was surrounded by fire, still laid out on the stretcher. The flames were growing larger and larger as the sprinklers kicked in, trying to quench them before they could spread to more of the ships there. "Maria?" Strange called out.

There was no response.

"Abercrombie?" he shouted next.

There was nothing.

Agents arrived on the scene, looking at the destruction and chaos. Novikova had slipped into the protective suit offered to her, hurrying alongside her wife. She didn't know what was going on, but she wasn't about to let Maria go off into danger without her. It wasn't very often these days that she got to accompany her on a deadly mission and besides, it was Valentine's Day. This was just going to have to do for their romantic excursion. "We need to get the flames out or this entire place will explode!" Novikova informed the others.

Strange was flying through the air, searching for Hill. Abercrombie wasn't in immediate danger, whereas Hill could easily be fighting for her life underneath a large hunk of metal at the moment, so he prioritized her.

Novikova closed her eyes, concentrating on the nearest flaming wreckage of a quinjet. She felt each ounce of metal on it, letting the vibrations ripple through her. Once her mind was fixed in a place between rage and serenity, she yanked up on the craft. It responded to her command as if it weighed nothing and Novikova tossed it to the side, more pushing it really. The craft hit the outer wall of the hangar and knocked it to the ground, the concrete blocks tumbling into a heap. She didn't let up though, pushing the craft out as far as she could before slamming it down into the ground. It was a grassy area out there and no one was about. The craft exploded completely on impact, leaving nothing behind.

One down, two more to go.